Two boy racers were tailgating at double the speed limit before they knocked down a nine-year-old girl on her way to mosque have been locked up.

Mohsen Saddique and Adil Manir hurtled through a 30mph zone in Rawtenstall town centre at speeds of up to 64mph before Manir lost control of his high-powered Audi A5 overtaking a car, mounted the kerb and collided with Aleena Kausar.

The schoolgirl, who was walking to mosque with her mum Sofia Begum and another relative, suffered multiple fatal injuries in the crash on September 15, 2015.

Despite the desperate efforts of medics she passed away in hospital later the same day.

Manir, 20, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sent to a young offenders institute for four years.

Taxi driver Saddique, 23, was found guilty of the same charge after a trial and was jailed for four years.

Adil Manir (left) and Mohsen Saddique (Image: PA)

Judge Jonathan Gibson said nothing he could say or do would ‘adequately reflect the pain of Aleena’s family’.

Aleena’s father Mumtaz Ali said they feel like they are ‘living in a nightmare’ and that ‘somebody has reached into our body and ripped out our hearts.’

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, told Burnley Crown Court how both defendants were ‘trying to drive as fast as they could’ at speeds of between 55 and 64mph and that they were as little as two metres apart from each other.

The crash on Bacup Road happened moments after Mrs Begum tragically declined an offer of a lift to mosque from Aleena’s uncle, who was also on his way to prayers as well.

As her uncle pulled out of a parking bay, in what was described as a “completely reasonable” manoeuvre, Manir was attempting to overtake a Vauxhall Corsa on a pelican crossing coming the other way.

Manir then slammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid the uncle’s Vauxhall Zafira but mounted the pavement and hit Aleena.

After the collision Manir parked his Audi down an alleyway before sending a text to his girlfriend which read: ‘Babe, I just crashed my car. I’ll text you.’

Aleena Kausar

Investigation of the skid marks left by the Audi showed Manir was travelling at 41mph at the point he started to brake.

The court heard how there were no defects on either Manir’s car or Saddique’s Volkswagen Golf, the weather was ‘fine’ and there was ‘good visibility’.

Mr Grout-Smith said when interviewed by police, Manir and Saddique both ‘denied responsibility and placed the blame on the Zafira driver’.

In a ‘very touching’ victim personal statement read out in court, Aleena’s father Mr Ali said she was a ‘very happy, bubbly and care free’ girl and ‘always wanted to make everybody she met happy’.

He said: “Her death has affected so many people. We have had messages of support from people we barely know and it’s made us realise what an impact she had on so many lives. It made us even more proud of her.

“It is like a knife in our hearts and reminds us of what we had lost. I will always remember the day she was killed.

“It’s hard for me to describe our feelings. We were completely devastated. It’s as if we are living in some dark nightmare hoping we will wake up

“Everything is dark, close, hopeless. It’s as if somebody has reached into our body and ripped out our hearts.”

Two cars being driven by Adil Manir and Mohsen Saddique along Bacup Road in Rawtenstall before they mowed down and killed a young girl (Image: PA)

Andrew Dallas, defending Manir, formerly of Rawtenstall, and now of Chatsworth Street, Keighley, said his client wanted to ‘express his utter remorse for his actions’.

He told the court how his degree or remorse was so extreme that it had become ‘self-loathing’.

He said: “This was a decent young lad with his life ahead of him who made a terrible mistake in his teenage years.

“Many get away with it. This poor little girl suffered the ultimate price as a result and the effect of that tragedy will live with him for the rest of his life, that he is lucky enough to still have.

“This is a very tight-knit community, Virtually everybody in this case are all distantly related to each other. It exacerbates his guilt. These are not strangers.”

Ahmed Nadim, defending Saddique, formerly of Rawtenstall and now of Rowsley Street, Keighley, said he ‘profoundly regrets the loss of a young life and has had to live with the moral responsibility that flows’.

He told the court: “No matter how bad his situation maybe, it doesn’t at all compare with the loss and damage that has been visited to the family of this child and her friends.”

Mr Nadim said Saddique had an ‘exemplary driving record’ as a taxi driver, had called the emergency services for help immediately after the collision, and that there were no skid marks on the road from his VW Golf which showed a ‘substantial variance’ in speed compared to Manir.

Flowers, toys and tributes left at the scene on Bacup Road

Judge Gibson said both defendants were ‘clearly highly thought of young men’ before the incident.

Sentencing, he said: “Nothing I could do or say can adequately reflect the pain of Aleena’s family which was evident to all of us when the victim personal statement was read out.

“Aleena was only nine years of age and had her whole life ahead of her.

“The two of you drove fast trying to accelerate and the two vehicles were very close together.

“The overtaking manoeuvre at the speed involved was of course inviting catastrophe and that’s what happened.

“This was a short-lived piece of driving but clearly Adil Manir your culpability was higher in that short period.

“You both recognise the enormity of what you’ve done. Nothing you will suffer can ever compare with what Aleena’s family have been though.”

Aleena’s parents Mumtaz Ali and Sofia Begum said they were ‘satisfied’ with the sentences imposed by the Judge.

In a statement issued after the sentencing hearing, they said: “It has been an extremely painful period of time for our family.

“We miss our daughter so much. She was a happy, loving, beautiful little girl and she has been taken away from us.

“Every parent will be able to imagine how painful this is and it is something we have to live with for the rest of our lives.

“We know that nothing will bring Aleena back to us and nothing will ease the pain.

“However we are satisfied with the sentence imposed by the judge and hope that this will have some kind of deterrent effect on other drivers so that other families do not have to go through what we are going through.

“We would once again like to express our sincerest thanks to Lancashire Constabulary who have provided our family with the highest level of care and support throughout this process. We would now request that we are left alone to deal with our loss.”

Their lawyer, Jennifer Maloney, a serious injury specialist from Slater and Gordon, added: “Aleena and her mother were innocent bystanders in a dangerous game between Saddique and Manir who showed a complete disregard for other people on the road.

“Their reckless actions ripped the family apart and today’s sentence shows that behaviour like this will not be tolerated.

“Nothing can make up for the pain and devastation this terrible tragedy has caused, but we hope the family feel that justice has now been served so they can grieve in peace for their little girl.”